Water is Wet

A white person telling a black person about racism is like telling a fish that water is wet.

Fish know that water is wet. They live in water, they swim in water whether it is placid, turbulent, warm, cold, full of currents that shove them into places they don’t want to go or push them deeper into oxygen-depleted zones, … waters full of plastic they ingest to the detriment of their health … red tide threats that kill them … dangerous bacteria … mercury that stores up in their bodies …

Fish live in water. They have to. They know its qualities and what it means to live their lives in water. They know the impact on their lives and health.

They also know that they must live their lives in the water. To leave the water means death.

Now comes someone who walks on dry land and wants to explain to the fish that water is wet.

That is what it is like when white people try to tell black people what is and is not racism.

Black people know. They spend their lives swimming in it and do not need anyone to explain it. They are the experts.